Individual tickets for the four operas are now available at prices ranging from £115 to £200 per opera - or more than four times what you'd pay for a Welsh National Opera show at the same venue. As reader Bohdan wrote to me "I was initially quite excited when you announced this event a few months ago, but now that I’ve seen that a reasonably priced ticket will cost £200, I shan’t be going. In my opinion it’s way over-priced for this particular production." A sentiment I am sure will be shared.

03 August 2013

The German TV channel RBB trailed Daniel Barenboim and his Staatskapelle Berlin all the way from Tegel airport to the Royal Albert Hall. The resulting documentary offers an intriguing glimpse of what went into producing the Proms Ring cycle - plus a sugar-coated view of London. Mostly in German, but don't let that put you off.

If you can't see it below, try RBB's website. May take a while to load.

02 August 2013

On sale in Seattle Opera's online gift shop - Ring merch with a difference. On top of the 'giant' baseball cap, you can find a teddy bear dressed as Wotan, slogan Ts and even a Xmas ornament. Beats a CD any day.

The pictures tell it all. While cast and crew around him beamed smiles of joy/relief after last night's Götterdämmerung, Frank Castorf's face registered a big 10 on the Frownometer. Not even a photo-op with Chefin Eva Wagner-Pasquier or a consolatory kiss from Allison Oakes (Gutrune) could ungrit those teeth.

Meanwhile, Katharina Wagner joined her half-sister to bathe in the reflected glory of Bayreuth's British Brünnhilde Catherine Foster, and Kirill Petrenko celebrated his orchestral victory.

Bundeskanzlerin Merkel didn't share the celebrations. She'd already left her private bungalow in the Hotel Waldstein straight after Siegfried to start her annual walking holiday in the Tyrol.

01 August 2013

Even in boo-loving Bayreuth, it's rare that a director receives a reception quite as hostile as this.

The Merkur's Markus Thiel captured the moment that Frank Castorf stepped out on stage after Götterdämmerung. Angry Wagner fans who had been bottling up their boos ever since Das Rheingold were finally free to unleash their feelings. Castorf and his team, seemingly well-prepared for the hostile reaction, stood calmly and faced the fury.

Read reviews in English of the whole cycle on Simon Morgan's blog to find out what provoked the storm.